1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a concealed type slide fastener comprised of a pair of fastener tapes having two rows of fastener elements mounted on the respective longitudinal folded edges thereof, a top end stop attached to the top end of at least one of the two fastener element rows, and a slider reciprocally movable along the fastener element rows. It particularly relates to relative constructions of a guidepost of the slider and the top end stop made of resin and attached to one end of the longitudinal folded edge of the fastener tape which end stop comes into sliding contact with the guidepost.
2. Description of the Related Art
In such conventional concealed type slide fasteners, fastener elements are mounted on opposed folded longitudinal edges of a pair of fastener tapes. There have been proposed various forms of top stops which are made of resin and welded on the upper ends of the fastener element rows. For examples, there is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication 48-39367 a coiled type slide fastener wherein coiled fastener elements are mounted on folded longitudinal edges of a pair fastener tapes, and a top end stop made of resin and of rectangular cross-section is injection-molded upon an element-free section of the folded longitudinal edge of each fastener tape. FIG. 13 shows a diametrical cross-sectional view of the top end stop 55 attached to the folded longitudinal edge 53 of the fastener tape 51 of the conventional slide fastener.
Most of sliders used for such conventional concealed type slide fasteners are of the type shown in FIG. 12. The concealed type slider 101 has a slider body 103 and a diamond or guidepost 105 mounted at the fore end of, as viewed longitudinally thereof and on the middle of the slider body 103, as viewed laterally thereof. The guidepost 105 is recessed on its opposed sides to thus provide a sliding surface 107 and an overhanging element-guiding portion 109. The element-guiding portion 109 extends outwardly from the top end of the sliding surface 107 for guiding coupling heads of fastener elements, when the fastener element rows runs through the slider 101.
The injection-molded top stop 53 of concealed slide fasteners disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication 48-39367 and reproduced here in FIG. 13 of the appended drawings has the following drawback. As the slider 101 is pulled up towards the top end stop 55 in order to fully close the slide fastener, the top end stop 55 tends to be tilted or slanted in the direction indicated by an arrow by lateral tension exerted on the fastener tapes 51 which is combined with presence of side flanges 111 of the slider 101 between the fastener tape 51 and fastener elements. As the top end stops 55 are thus tilted, an upper front corner 57 of the top end stop 55 is forcibly pressed against the horizontal element-guiding portion 109, which renders the upward movement of the slider 101 rather sluggish, thus precluding smooth opening and closing operation of the concealed slide fastener. In worse case, the tilted top end stops 55 could severely impinge against the element-guiding portion 109 of the slider guidepost 105, thus suffering even crucial damages.
In view of the above-mentioned drawback, this invention is designed to improve constructions of a slider and a top end stop of a concealed type slide fasteners. The gist of this invention resides in relative constructions of the guidepost of the slider body and the top end stop attached to the folded longitudinal edge of the fastener tape of the concealed type slide fastener.
An object of the present invention is to provide a concealed type slide fastener, wherein, when a slider is pulled up towards a top end stop to close the slide fastener, an element-guiding portion formed on a guidepost are well prevented from impinging or contacting against the top end stop made of resin attached to a folded edge of the fastener tape so that the top end stop is quite free from damages and thus continues to function in smooth and stable condition for a prolonged period of time.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.